140 replies to this topic

[WaddeHaddeDudeda]

INSERTION

Because of (mainly) personal reasons and (negligibly) my personal opinion towards the development of this game and the communication of the developers I don't think, that I have the abilities to keep this guide up to date in the upcoming future.

The latest version of the guide is dated to JUNE 2013.
This means, that especially chapter 5b (Weapons-Roundup) and chapter 5e (My First Mech) of said guide are seriously outdated and should be ignored (except for the Jenner F, the Hunchback 4SP and the Catapult K2, sans the quad PPC version).


The rest of the guide is still somewhat valid and can be transfered to the current game (OCTOBER 2013).


I have also switched the host, so you have now the possibility to directly download the guide from dropbox.


Everyone who still wishes to download the guide: have a blast while reading it and I still hope, that it will be an asset to you!
PGI: I wish you good luck in doing something for YOUR new customers.

Thanks a lot!

/INSERTION




So,

Now that I have your attention, please consider the questions below:

• Is the “Battletech Universe” unchartered waters for you?
  
• Are you an old BT-dawg, but you’ve only played the tabletop version of the game but none of the computer game series?
  
• Have you already played a game in the series, but still have questions regarding MW:O?
  
• Would you like some additional insight as to how the in-game mechanics of MW:O work?
  
• Do you sometimes feel tortured by questions like: “Where/how to invest my ingame money?”, “Which Mech to purchase next?”, “Which weapons shall I put into my Mechs?”, “For whatever reason do I need XYZ?”
  
• Are you being pwned disproportionately often during the game?
  
• Are you looking for a chance to get your game up?
  
• Are you “oldschool” and prefer printed manuals with your favorite games?

[roll]

If you’ve answered at least one or more of the above questions with “yes”, then don’t hesitate! Look no further and simply download the "Beginners Guide to MW:O" and start to read away!

My goal with this guide was to write a broad compendium with the purpose of covering as many features of the game as possible and applying my personal experience with the game to them. Since June 2012, I have played more than 1000 games in the closed beta period and a further 2100 in open beta (as of March 2013).

So, don’t hesitate - get it NOW!
It's free of charge and won't cost you either MCs or Cbills!
It's also very nutritional and packed with information of finest MW:O quality!
[/roll]


Furthermore, I'd welcome any feedback on this guide, particularly if it helped you in some way!

Last but not least I’d like to thank Weebz for dealing with my terribru engrish and helping to improve the reading flow of this version of the guide a lot! ^^
Same thanks to Biruke, who had the idea to translate the guide into the russian language and "simply" done it in next to no time without any help!


If you want to read it in a rather funny looking language (german that is), check out this thread!
Also the russian version just went live @ 05-27-2013!


I’d be grateful if this post could be made sticky! Thankies! ^^


________________________________________________________________________


Update: Version 1.2b:

• included the new control options
  
• completely revamped chapter 7 (Modules)
  
• some changes at the weapon descriptions
  
• updated the damage values of missile weapons
  
• removed some bugs
  
• done some minor tweaks

Update: Version 1.2c:

• minor updates and tweaks due to recent patches

Update: Version 1.2d:

• adjusted the values of the weapons
  
• adjusted some explanations at the equipment section
  
• explained the symbols which appear on top of targeted Mechs in chapter 3b) and chapter 5c)
  
• included the Stalker 3F into the "My first Mech" section in chapter 5e)

Update: Version 1.2e:

• adjusted the values of some weapons
  
• changed the version number - slow evolving game = slow evolving guide as well (last update is over 4 weeks ago and not much has changed or got added since)

________________________________________________________________________










PS: Actual number of downloads (as of 06-23-2013)

• english version: ~5385 (went live @ 03-11-2013)
  
• german version: ~3060 (went live @ 12-07-2012)
  
• russian version: ~ 600 (went live @ 5-27-2013)

If you like this, "like this"!

Edited by WaddeHaddeDudeda, 03 October 2013 - 06:12 AM.

[Flossme]

This guy is in my unit and I am fricken blown away by this. PGI should do something super nice as a courtesy/thank you for this. The time and effort to put this together in TWO languages!! Totally floored and impressed.

[GaussDragon]

Wow, this is absolutely wicked Wadde.

[MavRCK]

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

Mandatory reading! Stick this....

Maybe PGI could pick this up and distribute it with the game.. this is incredibly detailed, professional and an excellent resource!

Well done Wadde!

[xZaOx]

Sticky this!

[Dauphni]

Hey now, I was born in 1986, and I definitely enjoy it when my games come with a proper manual

But really, this is great stuff. Almost everything a (new) player needs to know is in there. The only things I didn't see were Mech quirks, the exact mechanics of damage drop off at long ranges, and how you can dumbfire LRMs. Crit padding is in there, but could be made a little more explicit. The editor in me might want to make a couple wording and style changes, but meh, he's a ****.

[Sidhewyn]

Great write up for the new folks!

[Phoenix Gray]

Looking forward to reading it!

[Deathlike]

The only issue I've found so far is that the "Heat Warning" description it needs some revising. it is triggered when you have heat between 80% and 100%...

[Flossme]

Deathlike, on 11 March 2013 - 08:53 PM, said:

The only issue I've found so far is that the "Heat Warning" description it needs some revising. it is triggered when you have heat between 80% and 100%...

For someone who didn't get paid to do this and already is an experienced pilot, it is the BEST introduction manual put out for this game thus far. No one has even come close to something as detailed as this, not even the developers!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Placed #3 overall in band camp instrument challenge for grade 4(played the triangle and cow bell)
Placed #1 in a pie eating contest on my 7th birthday (ate banana cream pie)
Future noble peace prize winner for forum trolling

[Deathlike]

I'm not hating on it... I'd rather have better explanations for certain things (the devil is in the details sometimes).

It's better than... well anything PGI has put out. It covers pretty much everything we should ever want to know.

[WaddeHaddeDudeda]

Deathlike, on 11 March 2013 - 08:53 PM, said:

The only issue I've found so far is that the "Heat Warning" description it needs some revising. it is triggered when you have heat between 80% and 100%...

Derp! You're right. Guess I've never paid attention to this. ^^
Expect it to be corrected with the next update and also thanks for helping me to improve this thing!
After all people who are reading this guide will find most of the faulty parts, since I'm somewhat "blinded" after all these hours.
If there are more simply wrong information, just lemme know and I'll correct them asap.


EDIT: I heard people hesitate because they don't like to download it from rapidshare (for whatever reasons).
If thats true: please let me know what those reasons are!
I don't get any money from hosting it there, it's just a very comfortable way for me to organize and distribute files + it gives me the chance to keep track of the download numbers (currently 311 after about 36 hours).

Furthermore it would be nice if the people who are downloading it would give me some feedback (i.e. what was bad, what was good, did this guide helped them out?). This way I could know what to improve and if the almost 100 hours I've spend on the english version alone (~ 150 hours on the german version) been worth it.
Thank you!

Edited by WaddeHaddeDudeda, 12 March 2013 - 10:27 PM.

[Deathlike]

The other minor detail would involved exposed internals... the crits thread is actually very useful at understanding this stuff... that should be combed over a little an added.

The "Critical Damage" warning IIRC is if you have 20% of armor or structure left... I can't recall. I'd have to find the dev post about it, but it's there.

[Symber]

If you mean the little siren thing that starts blaring its gotta be 20% armor because I routinely hear it before hitting my internals.

[That Dawg]

WaddeHaddeDudeda, on 11 March 2013 - 02:17 PM, said:

• Are you an old BT-dawg, but you’ve only played the tabletop version of the game but none of the computer game series?

hey hey HEY!!

[Sean Lang]

Great resource for new and old players! Just shared this on the NGNG Facebook page!

https://www.facebook...oGalaxyPodcasts

Great job guys!

[JoolNoret]

Nicely done! Good overall coverage of the basics. I like the links to more info when the deeper points come up. The only thing that came to mind in regards to suggestions is that I'd like to see the module section a little more fleshed out with information on the individual modules themselves. Mostly just to make it a feel touch more "complete."
Anyway, thanks for all the work. I'll be sure to pass it along to my pilot friends.

[Greg Atlas]

Good guide.

The only things I have found so far you should change is:
Page 28: "Without a lock-on SSRMs cannot be launched.
This means that you cannot fire at Mechs that are powered down."

I would also like to point out that pulse lasers are good for taking out fast 'mechs due to the concentrated bursts. Not only is the overall damage higher, but the damage over time is greater, so if you only get a sweeping hit they will do quite a bit more damage than a regular laser. In the tabletop rules it gave a -2 bonus to hit which was great for hitting fast targets. I can understand why they would be in the no love section though due to the increased tonnage, heat, and decreased range because they don't seem as efficient on resources, but in practice they are quite potent if you have more trouble with lights and fast mediums.

You can fire at 'mechs that are powered down if you have BAP. Not that many people use BAP, but it still makes it possible.

Edited by Greg Atlas, 14 March 2013 - 04:59 PM.

[Deathlike]

SSRMs can lock on to shutdown mechs.. ONLY if you or someone else has BAP and is near the target.

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

I was going to do something very similar to this, if my Ask the Devs 34 question didn't get a satisfactory answer. I know this has been alot of work, but I'm also sure it has been a labor of love. Thanks for putting it together.